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An outstanding English pale Ale. Lots of bread, peaches, and pears in the nose and flavor. Hopped for balance, while adding a mellow spiciness over the firm malt base. Lightly grainy in flavor, but not to deter. Round, yet smooth feel. Thins a bit into the finish for easy drinking. A good beer for any occasion.

Pours a nice deep golden color with a much larger head than was expected,very nice lacing.Great fruity aroma of oranges with a real light hop presence.Taste is a little subdued but nice,fruity from the yeast I presume with a light hop backbone I also get dry malt in the finish.Could this beer get easier to drink?hey I really like this beer and glad I have a case.

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 500ml bottle into an Imperial Pint glass.

Appearance: The body has an orange amber color with a two finger head of light off white foam. The head is slow fading with a wispy thin layer just hanging on. Lacing is spotty and slick.

Smell: It has a very light aroma. All I really get is very light bready malt with very mild fruitiness.

Taste/Palate: Like the nose it has a light bready malt base with thin fruit notes. This is backed up and balanced by mild citrus and herbal hop bitterness. The light body has soft and mild carbonation and a somewhat thin and almost watery feel.

Notes: Overall it goes down easy but the thin feel and flavor are a bit of a let down. I do like what is there but I just want a little more of it.

Taste: Lightly smooth with a slim carbonation. Juicy and bursting palate of malt hops and yeasty by-products. Juicy fruit with some cracker-like maltiness, fruitiness is more of faint apple and pear. Hops are through with a sufficient bitterness and arousing flavour. Some mild ester and buttery diacetyl within the nuttiness of the yeast adds much complexity. The diacetyl almost doubles in the finish as the hops come back with a leafy finish add to the flavourful after taste.

Notes: I am quite pleased with this brew, flavours and aromas bouncing all over with an impressive head. All of this is the big picture for what an English ale is supposed to be.

1pint.9oz brown bottle pours out a mostly clear, amber gold colour. The head is an offwhite, enormous froth of thick and sudsy foam which leaves massive lacing of all kinds. Odd aroma for an English ale, with nectarines, and what seems to be a tart apple note dominating the nose over the usual malts. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, smooth, and even. Taste is slightly bitter, with some funky hops going on. Malt profile is some very faint caramel. Earthy yeastiness, and some wild fruitiness provide most of the flavors. The hoppiness seems more herbal than fruity or floral in the taste. Spearmint comes to mind. It's light and refreshing and finishes with a herbal bitterness. This is, indeed, a Black Sheep, and would take me some time to grow accustomed to.

This beer has built a massive reputation in Britain in the fifteen years since its creation, and for good reason. It's quite unusual, for a Pale Ale - somehow I remember it being darker and creamier in Harrogate and Masham, North Yorkshire. It looks good for the type, slightly redder than usual, but with a nice head at the start. Retention lessens as the glass is emptied. As others have said, it has more effervescence than is ordinary, prompting more burps than the usual English cask ale. It's a nice beer, lots of different tastes, quite distinct hops, surprisingly warming, a good one to have drink at the Old Bell Tavern on a cold night in the Yorkshire winter. Carbonation does not spoil the mouthfeel but it is unusual. Overall, this is a true real ale that some Northerners would die for, and for good reason. I would drink this all the time if it were ever on cask here in Australia.

Nice looking beer, clear amber with a bone-white head that shrunk to a persistent foamy layer and a lot of Belgian lace. I got a weird aroma at first, kind of vegetal. Once it opened up I got English hops, a little malt, sweet citrus, tea maybe...? Interesting. Malty flavor, a little thin, nicely balanced floral hops. This was the second beer I've tried from a brewery that uses Yorkshire stones, the other being Sam Smith's. For that reason I was expecting some of that trademark Sam Smith's diacetyl flavor, but I couldn't detect it. Nice hoppy finish without being very bitter. A little thin bodied but perfectly carbonated, making it very drinkable. Nothing earth-shattering here, but a nice solid English ale.

Appearance - beer pours a gorgeous amber colour with a fluffy tanned head. Head is about 1-2 inches and has a lot of carbonation in it. Carbonation seems middle in the beer and lacing is decent.

Smell - I can smell a fruity presents with a hint of sweetness. A mild smell of hops as well, the beer smells really fresh.

Taste - very decent tasting beer, some minor aftertaste but it does not take away from the flavour. Found the fruity taste comes forward during the tasting as well. Not a dominant tasting beer,

Mouthfeel - light beer in the mouthfeel with a slight base of creaminess. The carbonation levels do increase, but nothing over dramatic.

Drinkability - An enjoyable beer, nothing i would hunt down but would drink if offered. Overall, i found the beer lacked a "punch" taste in the end, there was no quality that separates it from the rest in its field.

A 500ml bottle with a BB of March 2012. I can't believe this is the first Black Sheep beer I'm reviewing - the brewery is a classic.

Poured into a straight pint glass. A faintly hazy orange-amber colour with low carbonation. Forms a decent head of frothy white foam that lasts for a minute or so before dissipating. Aroma of slightly sweet caramel malt with hints of yeast esters, toffee, stewed hops and butter.

Tastes of caramel malt with a mild bitter finish. Notes of fruity yeast esters, caramel/toffee, stewed hops and a hint of diacetyl in the background. Quite dry, with a subtle sweetness. Mouthfeel is smooth and tingly with some astringency. Aftertaste of fruity yeast and caramel malt.

A decent ale. A restrained flavour and good body make for easy drinking. Dry but fruity. Well-crafted and worth sampling.

Slightly hazy ginger color, big and creamy head with suds that hold shapes like styrofoam. Sugary patchwork lace. Slight buttery toffee aroma. Mild and delicate to the tongue, flavor starts with some caramel and slight diacetyl but is soon counteracted by a well-done flowery hop that lingers into the aftertaste. Slightly papery and thinning a little too early, this beer still exudes quaffability -- I could toss back plenty of this one.